WBKO
  
|
|
|
Bowling Green, Kentucky United States |
|
|---|---|
| Branding | WBKO 13 (general) WBKO 13 News (newscasts) WBKO Fox (on DT2) South Central Kentucky CW (on DT3) |
| Slogan |
Stay Connected (general) Bowling Green's Fox (on DT2) TV Now (on DT3) |
| Channels | Digital: 13 (VHF/PSIP) |
| Subchannels | (see article) |
| Affiliations | ABC (1967–present) |
| Owner |
Gray Television (Gray Television Licensee, LLC) |
| First air date | June 3, 1962 |
| Call letters' meaning |
We're Bowling Green, Kentucky's Own |
| Sister station(s) |
Bowling Green: WBKO-DT2, W14DG-D Lexington: WKYT-TV Hazard: WYMT |
| Former callsigns | WLTV (1962–1971) |
| Former channel number(s) | 13 (VHF analog, 1962–2009) 33 (UHF digital, 2000–2009) |
| Former affiliations |
Independent (1962–1967) Jewelry Television (DT2, 2006–2016) |
| Transmitter power | 31.5 kW |
| Height | 220.5 m (723 ft) |
| Facility ID | 4692 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 37°3′49.4″N 86°26′6.7″W / 37.063722°N 86.435194°W |
| Website | www.wbko.com/ |
WBKO is the ABC-affiliated television station for South Central Kentucky licensed to Bowling Green. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter along KY 185/Richardsville Road in unincorporated northern Warren County. Owned by Gray Television, WBKO has studios on Russellville Road (US 68/KY 80) along the William H. Natcher Parkway in Bowling Green.
The station can also be seen on Charter Spectrum channel 9 and in high definition on digital channel 908.
The station signed on the air on June 3, 1962 as WLTV (standing for Wonderful Live Television). It was the first commercial outlet to launch in Bowling Green and aired an analog signal on VHF channel 13. Joe Walters (a former RCA engineer) and Mr. & Mrs. George Brown (local sales people) owned the station. It was an Independent owned by Argus Broadcasting and originally had studios at its transmitter in rural Warren County.
On March 6, 1967, WLTV became affiliated with ABC and aired all of its shows. After affiliating with ABC, the station moved to new studios located on Morgantown Road in downtown Bowling Green. After spending some time off the air in late 1969 due to an explosion destroying its transmitter, Argus Broadcasting sold the station to Professional Telecasting Systems on June 11, 1970. The "explosion" was due to an estimated 48 sticks of dynamite being placed on the bottom of the tower. It is suspected that a local bootlegger at the time did not appreciate the news spotlighting his operation. This did not collapse the tower although is still stood with a bow in it, the transmission line on the lower section of the tower was destroyed and the tower was unsafe. A temporary tower with a temporary antenna was erected at the site and station continued operation with diminished coverage a few months later. This heralded the relocation of the transmitter to the site where it now operates.
...
Wikipedia